JPL Creates BEC with ColdQuanta System

(Gawkwire) – Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently announced that it has achieved BEC, (Bose-Einstein condensate) in its Cold Atom Lab in Pasadena California. At the heart of the NASA funded system in this lab is ColdQuanta’s RuBECi® and Physics Platform.

“We are thrilled that our RuBECi is at the heart of the system going into the Cold Atom Lab,“ said Rainer Kunz, CEO of ColdQuanta. He added. “We have worked extensively with JPL so they can be assured of a reliable system to send to the ISS (International Space Station)”

While ultracold atoms and BEC are currently being researched in many labs around the world, the Cold Atom Laboratory will allow five research groups to conduct experiments in the microgravity environment of the Space Station. On Earth, researchers can create clouds of ultracold atoms at 200 nanoKelvin. The microgravity environment should allow the researchers to cool the atoms down to temperatures even colder than those possible on earth. Temperatures as low as one picokelvin (one trillionth of one Kelvin, or 293 trillion times below room temperature) should be achievable.

As well as the current rubidium based system, ColdQuanta will be developing a system which will allow for the creation of ultracold potassium atoms allowing the research teams to develop experiments centered around the mixing of the two ultracold atom species (potassium and rubidium). This system, too, will be ready for CAL launch date in 2016, and ColdQuanta has already received final approval from JPL to start manufacturing.

ColdQuanta focuses on the development of BEC (Bose-Einstein Condensate) and cold atom generating devices and systems, allowing them to be accessible to a wide range of research, educational, and industrial institutions. Their products are intended for use in scientific and industrial applications requiring high performance and reliability. The company also provides custom engineering solutions to the cold atom and ultracold atom community.